


It's A Great Big Multiverse

by Meg13



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: 100 words or less, F/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr, month of au's collection, personal writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 3,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22197316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meg13/pseuds/Meg13
Summary: a collection of au’s, 100 words or less
Relationships: Barbara Lake/Walter Strickler | Stricklander
Comments: 21
Kudos: 36





	1. Coffee Shop

> Thirty-two days after he overhears her order a venti hazelnut with two shots of espresso, Walter resolves to engage the beautiful redhead who has become a regular fixture at his favorite coffee shop.
> 
> Even if he has no idea how to approach her.
> 
> He’s _tried_ to attract her attention – only, she somehow misses every nervous grin or hopeful glance he sends her way. Then there was that one time he thought _she_ was coming to talk to _him_ , but she’d just been on her way to the loo.
> 
> Today would be different, however. Today he would… sleep through his alarm.


	2. Angels/Demons

> The world is coming to an end.
> 
> Not _right now_ , but in a few years nothing will be left of this puny little planet except for smoke and brimstone and those poor souls unfortunate enough to have missed the rapture.
> 
> Walter Strickler, the demon behind GPA’s and standardized tests, isn’t looking forward to it. At all. He likes his morning lattes and weekly crosswords, his comfy green robe and the smell of an old book.
> 
> But, most of all, he likes Barbara Lake – and how interesting their relationship has become now that he knows she’s an angel in disguise.


	3. Mermaid

> The low, melodic tune of his crooning voice is what initially saves him.
> 
> Because the lithe mermaid that tugs him to safety was told to drown any man stupid enough to fall off the platform under the violent, crashing waves. His savior, however, enjoys his shanties and asks to hear more once he’s dry and no longer coughing up seawater.
> 
> He obliges.
> 
> And days later, when he finally asks her why she won’t let him go, Barbara leans close – sharp teeth gleaming in the early morning sunlight – and says, “Tell me about these… oil rigs. And how to _destroy_ them.”


	4. Alien

> The last thing Barbara expects to discover upon crashing into the dingy planet is a sentient rock in humanoid form.
> 
> He’s certainly fascinating to look at, though – with intricate tattoos carved into polished serpentine skin and a set of wings she’d happily spend all day fawning over. He knows magic, too. And he promises to teach it to her in return for a few technology tips.
> 
> She gives them to him in whispered bits and pieces as her luminescent fingers drag through his hair, down his throat, across his chest, up his thigh… All at once.
> 
> He never remembers them.


	5. Parents/Caretakers

> He finds her an hour into the birthday party, wedged between their bed and the wall with a defiant look on her face.
> 
> “What?”
> 
> “Barbara, darling…” Walter’s lips curl into a thin, amused grin. “Are you hiding from the children?”
> 
> “I needed, like, five minutes of silence.” He glances pointedly at the half-eaten cake-pop in her hand, and Barbara gives an _almost_ guilty little shrug, “And snacks.”
> 
> Walter opens his mouth to playfully chide her, but quickly changes his tune when a series of high-pitched squeals and screeches invade his sensitive ears. Wincing, he sits. “Got another one?”
> 
> She grins.


	6. College/Roommates

> Barbara is six months pregnant when she shows up on his doorstep, sopping wet and desperately trying to maintain a brave face.
> 
> “Barbara?”
> 
> “Hey, Walt.” She takes a deep, shaking breath and attempts a small smile. “I’m sorry to just show up like this, but I didn’t know where else to go. James… Um. He broke up with me.”
> 
> The grad student’s eyes flash, but he immediately pulls her into his arms. “That fucking prick. You can stay here for as long as you’d like, Barb.”
> 
> “I can’t –“
> 
> “You can.” He’s always loved her, after all. “Both of you.”


	7. Blind Date

> “You can’t be serious,” Walter drawls with a scowl. “You set me up... on a date… with a woman you met in Krav Maga? Since when do you care about my love-life?”
> 
> “I don’t,” Nomura snorts. “But you’ve been _such_ a little bitch lately. You need to get laid.”
> 
> “I’m not going to fuck some random –“
> 
> “Nomura!”
> 
> The changelings look up in unison to find a tall, lithe redhead zig-zagging through the maze of café tables. Walter is – if the look on his face is any indication – instantly smitten.
> 
> Smirking, Nomura pats his hand. “You can thank me later.”


	8. High School

> “- always there, whispering in my ear to work harder or risk losing my scholarship,” Walter groans, plucking the joint from Barbara’s fingers. “Like. I get it, Mum. You can shut it now.”
> 
> “Your mom is _Morgana_.” Barbara rolls her eyes and playfully flicks his horn as he inhales. “No shit, she’s gonna expect a lot from you.”
> 
> “Yeah, okay.” He shrugs. “But she’s not like that with Otto or Nomura.”
> 
> “You’re the oldest.”
> 
> Walter exhales. “I’m the bitch.”
> 
> “Well,” Barbara says with a peck to his jade-colored cheek. “That, too.”
> 
> “You like my bitch ass.”
> 
> “I _love_ your bitch ass.”


	9. Spy

> “ _Agent_ Lake?”
> 
> She ignores his stunned expression to nod at the teenager currently holding him in a headlock. “At ease, Sturges.”
> 
> “ _Sturges_?!” The boy reluctantly lets him go, and Walter stumbles as he rises to his feet. “What the fuck is going on?”
> 
> “My name is Agent Barbara Lake. This here is Agent James Sturges,”’ Barbara explains calmly, her gun still aimed at the center of the changeling’s forehead. “We’re part of a secret government organization responsible for policing Fae and other mythical beings here on earth.” She smiles grimly. “And we’ve been after you for a long time, Stricklander.”


	10. Dragons

> Barbara’s a natural with dragons – patient, nurturing, and _always_ down to snuggle with the whelps. They flock to her, and she quickly earns the reputation of being a skilled breeder and expert healer.
> 
> So, it’s no surprise when the riders dump an unconscious winged beast on her doorstep.
> 
> “Fledgling?”
> 
> It’s not, but she doesn’t turn away the creature. She dresses the head-wound and stitches the gnarliest abrasions, then lays the… whatever-it-is by the fire to warm.
> 
> What _is_ a surprise, however, is finding the local schoolteacher (her current suitor) naked on her floor with his head bandaged the next morning.


	11. Enemies to Lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mature

> “Help us.” She nuzzles his throat, breath hot and insistent against Walter’s cool skin. “Help _me_.”
> 
> He stills above her.
> 
> “Please,” Barbara murmurs and nips a trail along his jaw, up to the shell of his ear. “If whatever _this_ is means anything to you at all –“
> 
> “You know it does,” he interrupts with a low, tempered growl. “Do you have any idea what you’re asking of me?”
> 
> To defect, betray his brethren – cross ancient battle lines drawn long before either even existed… Choose _her_ , the Trollhunter.
> 
> “Yes,” her heels dig into his thighs, urging him deeper, “I do.”


	12. Fairytale

> “Once upon a time there was a boy – _just like you, yes he was_ – that became a great knight. He was courageous and learned very quickly to wield a sword. Many a foe he felled, but there was one he could not touch…
> 
> For his mother had fallen in love with a suave, sophisticated schoolteacher who, in return, loved everything about the beautiful doctor. Especially, how delectable her arse looks in scrub-pants.”
> 
> “Walter!”
> 
> “He’s four-months-old, Barbara.” The changeling looks up from the gurgling infant on his lap, and leers suggestively at the boy’s unimpressed mother. “And I’m just being honest.”


	13. Royalty

> “You are playing with fire,” Nomura hisses through clenched teeth once the heavy oak door leading to the Princess’ private quarters closes. Her eyes narrow in annoyance, and she reaches out to jab a finger in Lord Stricklander’s recently wounded shoulder. “She is betrothed to our…” James is not, and never will be _their_ , “King.”
> 
> “I am well aware, thank you.”
> 
> “Then why do you insist upon risking our position? Gunmar was quite explicit with his instructions. It’s as if you’re –“ She blinks suddenly, incredulous. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Idiot. You love her.”
> 
> He does not deny the accusation.


	14. Disney Movie

> “What the actual fu–“
> 
> “Nomura!”
> 
> “I’m a squirrel, Barbara,” the changeling fumes, and gestures furiously down at her furry little body. “A cartoon squirrel – like a damn Disney sidekick! Look at this bushy tail!”
> 
> The doctor snorts.
> 
> “When I get my hands on Claire…” Nomura twists her tiny paws threateningly. “I’m never drinking one of her potions again. Ever. And where is Strickler? Why isn’t he a cartoon pig? Or a jackass, or something?”
> 
> “I’m not positive,” Barbara says, frowning as she scans the scroll in her own pixelated palms. “But I think he’s our damsel in distress.”


	15. Immortals

> She watches him pace from her hospital bed – back and forth, this way and that – until the world starts to spin and she has to shut her eyes to settle her stomach. “Walt, honey…”
> 
> “ If we can just find the stone,” he continues obliviously. “Or, maybe, the fountain? I’m not sure if they could _cure_ you, but either would buy some time.”
> 
> “Babe, stop,” she breathes, and slowly opens her eyes. “I know this is hard for you to hear, but I don’t _want_ to live forever.”
> 
> “Barbara, I can’t…” His voice cracks. “Please. Ten years isn’t nearly enough.”


	16. Roadtrip

> Jim has always dreamed of seeing the giant redwood forests upstate. The trees are fascinating and there’s something about them that seems to… _call_ to him in a way he’s sure can’t be real. Almost like –
> 
> “Magic,” his stepdad says as he loads up the car on Jim’s eleventh birthday. “You’ll see.”
> 
> “You’ve been?”
> 
> “Yes, a long time ago. But you must promise not to wander, Young Atlas. It’s very easy to lose yourself in the forest.” He gives the boy’s mother an affectionate kiss on the temple as she passes the cooler to him, and murmurs, “Or find yourself.”


	17. Coworkers

> “There’s been some talk,” Barbara says, lifting her foot to glide along the inside of Walter’s calf. “Apparently, I was only promoted because we have a… _relationship_.”
> 
> The male changeling snorts, but doesn’t look up from the file on his desk. “You were promoted because the other applicant is a moron who’s blown cover twice.”
> 
> “So,” she smirks and toes his knees apart, “it’s not because we’ve been sleeping together for a decade?”
> 
> “Darling, I chased you for years before that.” Walter finally looks up, gaze smoldering. “Don’t you think I’d have promoted you _then_ if feelings were a factor?”


	18. Modern/Past

> Waltholemew is still very much green (figuratively and literally) when his human father informs him of his upcoming nuptials. The announcement leaves him stunned, panicked.
> 
> A _wife_? Unacceptable.
> 
> But the Baron’s political ties are too important to sever and when words fail to sway, the young changeling begins planning how best to become a widower – a plot that unravels the moment he meets his betrothed.
> 
> She’s nothing like he expected. Kind and beautiful, yet quick and charming. She lets him kiss her knuckles, then the corners of her mouth as they bid goodnight.
> 
> Their marriage is a long, happy one.


	19. Witch/Wizard

> They’re not snogging (yet) when a _very_ disgruntled voice suddenly cuts through the crisp morning air. “Oi, Slytherin! Get your hands off my mum’s bum.”
> 
> “Last time I checked, Mr. Lake,” Walter immediately scowls as Barbara uses his shoulder to stifle a giggle, “we are still on school grounds.”
> 
> “Alright.” The teen looks mightily unimpressed. “ _Professor_ Slytherin, get your hands off my mum’s bum.”
> 
> Barbara tilts her chin and grins. “Someone is still sore Gryffindor lost yesterday.”
> 
> “Hmm.” Walter clicks his tongue. “Or it could be that it’s seven o’clock and you _obviously_ stayed over last night.”
> 
> “I heard that!”


	20. Neighbors

> “I’m Jim.”
> 
> The changeling blinks at the small boy who’s mysteriously manifested on his new front lawn. “Hi... I’m Walter.”
> 
> “I live there.” The child jerks his thumb over his shoulder and, in the same breath, asks, “Do you have a wife?”
> 
> “Ahhh.” Walter frowns. “No.”
> 
> “Want one? My mom’s real pretty. And she said your sweater looks like it’s made from boyfriend mater–“
> 
> “Jim!”
> 
> Walter looks up to find a tall redhead with an embarrassed, exasperated expression marching across the yard. “Oh,” he says, surprised by how true the boy’s words ring – she _is_ attractive. “Hello there, neighbor.”


	21. Vampires

> “I know what you are.”
> 
> “You obviously _don’t_ ,” Walter snaps, staring incredulously up at the redhead straddling his waist. Of all the things he’d imagined them doing in this position, none of them included a wooden-stake digging dangerously into the flesh over his heart. “I’m not a bloody vampire.”
> 
> “I’ve seen the photos at the museum, Walt.” Barbara doesn’t sound like she really _wants_ to believe her accusation. “Jim says the shades are always drawn in your classroom. And you _never_ want to meet during the day.”
> 
> “My dear, vampires aren’t the only creatures that go bump in the night.”


	22. Role Reversal

> _Do it_ , Barbara tells herself as her date swivels around in his chair to take a call from the hospital. _He’s nothing more than a tool, a weapon, a pawn – something you can use to shield yourself against the Trollhunter should he try to make good on his threats._
> 
> She stretches an arm across the table toward his teacup, hesitates, nibbles nervously on her bottom lip.
> 
> _But that’s not true, is it? He’s **Walter** – kind and funny, whose smile shines through the gloom to brighten even your worst days._
> 
> _I’ve never felt like this…_
> 
> The totem falls from her fingers.


	23. Time Travel

> They’re exploring an old, abandoned armory that Walter was stationed at in the 90’s (1890’s, that is) when Barbara unexpectedly topples into a wormhole.
> 
> It’s an odd sensation, falling through time and space, but the landing isn’t nearly as unpleasant as it could be. Not for her, at least. The person she lands on, however, may disagree somewhat with that opinion.
> 
> Either way – when they finally stop stumbling, Barbara’s shocked to find herself staring at a set of familiar emerald eyes she hasn’t seen since the Eternal Night. “Walt!?”
> 
> He frowns. “Do I know you?”
> 
> “Uh, sorta. I’m your wife.”


	24. Survival/Apocalypse

> “Jim, no.” Walter shakes his head and gestures to the deserted alley behind Stuart’s Electronics. “They’ll have control of the sewers by now. We need to stay aboveground.”
> 
> Barbara’s eyes flick from her son to the changeling and back. “I think we should listen to Walter on this one. He’s–“
> 
> “–the reason we’re in this mess,” Jim growls. “Mom, he’s been working for Gunmar for _centuries_!”
> 
> “And I stopped the day I saw that amulet in your bag. Now hush up before…“ Walter trails off at the sound of a stalkling screeching overhead, then grabs Barbara’s hand. “ _Run_!”


	25. Wrong Number

> “Mrs. Palchuk?”
> 
> “Ah, no.” Barbara rolls her eyes. Ugh. Which cheap scam is it this time? “You have the wrong number. This is the Lake residence. Please, take me off your list.”
> 
> “Bollocks. The numbers must not have imported properly from Excel. I’m very sorry.” There’s a slight pause before, “Wait. Did you say Lake? Is this Jim’s mother?”.
> 
> So, maybe it’s _not_ a scammer for once. “Yes.”
> 
> “Oh! Well, you weren’t on my list but…” The man clears his throat. “I’m Walter Strickler. Your son’s freshman history teacher. I must say, Jim is a delight to have in class.”


	26. Longtime Best Friends

> They’re thick as thieves from the very beginning – always whispering and giggling behind the other changeling whelps’ backs, or hiding away to plot pranks that aren’t the least bit harmless. It drives their respective nestmates nuts.
> 
> And while it isn’t at all encouraged, their trainers do very little to deter the budding friendship. After all, what’s so wrong with having a little leverage over two of the top Darkland rookies?
> 
> Nothing.
> 
> Until that friendship blossoms into something much _more_ and that bond becomes a problem, a threat to authority and the established order…
> 
> Stricklander is immediately sent to the surface.


	27. Hero/Villain

> _“…and while the drop in criminal activity has left the citizens of Arcadia breathing a collective sigh of relief, we are all left to wonder – just what is The Changeling planning this time? And will Superdoc return in time to stop him?”_
> 
> Walter rolls his eyes and mutes the television as Barbara gingerly settles down onto the couch beside him.
> 
> “What is it now?” She asks, snuggling into her favorite villain’s side.
> 
> “They’re speculating over our whereabouts again.” Walter gives the newborn dozing on his shoulder a gentle pat and scowls at the newscaster. “We’re on parental leave, you walnut.”


	28. Dystopian

> “Walt, you have to do something. They cut the clinic’s funding in half. I can barely buy bandages now,” Barbara sighs. “And half the town is already sick…”
> 
> The changeling shakes his head. “Darling, I doubt any request I make will be taken into consideration. Not now, anyway.”
> 
> “You don’t think She knows you’re… _involved_ , do you?”
> 
> “The Lady’s favorite general, Bular, paid me a visit yesterday.” Walter pulls back the collar of his sweater to reveal a smattering of black-and-blue bruises. Barbara gasps. “Besides, it’s not like my relationship with the Trollhunter’s mother is much of a secret anymore.”


	29. Classic Story

> “…nothing but a fraud. New money? Ha!” James scoffs, glaring at the man leaning casually against the windowsill. “I had one of my boys check him out, Barb. His house? His parties? His fancy clothes? Bought with dirty money. All of it. He’s just some bootlegging whiskey-runner from _nowhere_ , swindling respectable men like –“
> 
> “Respectable?” Walt quirks an amused brow. “None of your ‘boys’ are respectable, James. I can assure you of that.”
> 
> James turns to Barbara. “Kitten, don’t you see what he’s trying to do to us?”
> 
> “Oh, I see,” she says, smiling knowingly. “And, frankly, I don’t care.”


	30. Soulmates

> It’s like this – you meet your soulmate and the world becomes a brighter place. Seriously. It’s a thing.
> 
> Some are lucky enough to see in color most of their lives. Maybe they find their soulmate in the reading circle at kindergarten or on the playground after tee-ball practice. It _can_ happen. Just… not very often. And many people die without the joy of seeing green grass or a blue sky or even a pink flamingo.
> 
> Walter Strickler, for example, has lived _centuries_ in greyscale.
> 
> But then he meets the Trollhunter’s mother and everything around him suddenly bursts into vibrant color.


	31. A Fallout AU

> Walter is in the process of booking his ticket to Greece when a light, hesitant knock on the door pulls his attention away from the computer. “Office hours ended…” The changeling trails off, eyes growing wide as a familiar figure steps into the cramped office. “Barbara. Hello.”
> 
> “Hey, Walt.” Her tone is soft, bordering on shy as she smiles tentatively at him. “How’ve you been?”
> 
> “Alright,” he says, and is so genuinely pleased to see her again that he completely fails to notice how her hand has moved to cover her growing belly. “You?”
> 
> Barbara grimaces and then sighs, “Pregnant.”


End file.
